No. 13 Penn State surges past Oregon State 61-56FREEPORT, Bahamas -- Tori Waldner and Dara Taylor scored the first six points of the second half in a 90-second burst as No. 13 Penn State surged ahead of Oregon State en route to a 61-56 victory in the Junkanoo Jam in a high school gym on Friday.
High-scoring (92 ppg), 3-point-shooting Oregon State (4-1) led for much of the first half, forcing nine Penn State turnovers, holding the Nittany Lions to 21 percent shooting and leading 21-14 by 5:50 of the opening period.
The Lions (4-1), whose only loss has been to top-ranked UConn, overcame the cold start with a 10-2 run to close 27-26 by the break. Maggie Lucas, on her birthday, scored 17 to lead Penn State, including a 3-pointer to break open a 56-53 lead with 2:13 left. Waldner finished with 10.
Jamie Weisner scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Beavers, and Samantha Seiger scored 14.
Liston helps Duke beat Central Michigan
ST. THOMAS, Virgin Islands -- Tricia Liston scored 15 of her 20 points in the first half and added 11 rebounds to lead No. 2 Duke to a 97-64 win against Central Michigan at the Paradise Jam on Friday.
Elizabeth Williams and Alexis Jones added 14 points each for the Blue Devils (7-0).
Duke trailed 24-21 midway through the first half before scoring 18 of the next 20 points to take a 39-26 lead with 5:37 left. The Blue Devils led 49-30 at the half and cruised through the final 20 minutes against the Chippewas (1-4), who were playing the highest ranked opponent in team history.
Niki DiGuilio scored 17 points to lead Central Michigan.
No. 3 Lady Vols rout SMU 87-47
FREEPORT, Bahamas -- Ariel Massengale scored 11 of her 16 points in the first half to help No. 3 Tennessee rout SMU 87-47 on Friday night to win the Junkanoo Jam.
It was the Lady Vols' first holiday tournament championship since they won the Paradise Jam in 2005. Tennessee which had been getting off to slow starts lately, led from the beginning in this game.
The Lady Vols (7-0) scored 21 of the first 26 points to take an early lead. SMU (7-1) rallied to 23-15 before Tennessee led 39-27 at the half.
Isabelle Harrison, who only played six minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, scored three quick baskets after break to help blow the game open.
Keena Mays scored 12 to lead the Mustangs.
No. 8 Maryland routs Texas Southern 100-59
GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico -- Alyssa Thomas had 23 points and 10 rebounds to lead No. 8 Maryland to a 100-59 rout of Texas Southern on Friday in the San Juan Shootout.
Freshman Shatori Walker-Kimbrough added a season-high 17 points for the Terrapins (6-1), who will play Ohio on Saturday. She hit seven of her nine shots, including three 3-pointers. Brene Moseley added nine points and nine assists.
Maryland led just 13-10 with 12:30 left in the first half before going on a 15-4 run over the next 3 minutes to take command. Walker-Kimbrough got hot from outside to fuel the spurt.
The Terrapins led 54-29 at the half with Thomas scoring 18 points in the first 20 minutes.
Jazzmin Parker scored 23 points to lead the Lady Tigers (3-3). She was the only double-digit scorer for the team.
Arizona State upsets No. 11 North Carolina 94-81 OT
CANCUN, Mexico -- Adrianne Thomas scored 23 points as Arizona State outscored No. 11 North Carolina 17-4 in overtime, for a 94-81 upset win on Friday.
North Carolina's Diamond DeShields made a bucket to start overtime but Arizona State responded with a 9-0 run. After North Carolina's second basket, 2 minutes later, Deja Mann's hit a 3-pointer to start the final 8-0 run.
In regulation, North Carolina was ahead 72-67 with 1:01 left, but the Tar Heels missed 3 of 4 free throws in the final 15 seconds. That gave the Sun Devils a shot with 9 seconds remaining. Deja Mann missed a 3-pointer, but Thomas got the rebound and made the shot as time expired.
Thomas led four Arizona State (5-1) players in double figures. Mann had 17, Joy Burke 13 and Sophie Brunner, Katie Hempen added 10 apiece.
North Carolina (5-2) got 28 points from DeShields and Stephanie Mavunga added 17.
Enemkpali, Texas upset No. 12 Texas A&M 69-58
ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands -- Nneka Enemkpali had 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead Texas to a 69-58 upset victory against No. 12 Texas A&M at the Paradise Jam Classic on Friday night.
Brady Sanders made a 3-pointer with 8:32 to play for a 49-38 lead and the Longhorns (4-2) held their double-digit lead from there. Texas won for the fourth time in the last 17 games against the Aggies.
Enemkpali shot 7 of 8 from the field and 6 of 8 from the free throw line. Sanders was 3 of 6 from 3-point range and finished with 13 points.
No. 12 Texas A&M (4-1) closed an early deficit to within 25-21 with 2:50 left in the first half. The Longhorns answered with an 8-0 run to lead at the break 33-21.
The Aggies struggled from the field, shooting only 19 of 60 for 31.7 percent. Courtney Walker led Texas A&M with 15 points.
No. 14 Colorado scorches South Alabama 94-61
BOULDER, Colo. -- Jen Reese and Jamee Swan each scored 16 points as No. 14 Colorado knocked off still-winless South Alabama 94-61 in the opening round of the Omni Hotels Classic on Friday night.
South Alabama (0-5) was thoroughly outplayed by the Buffaloes who have now scored 80-plus points in their last for games. The Buffaloes (5-0) opened up a 53-27 halftime lead highlighted by a 16-2 run at the end of the period initiated by Reese who knocked down a jumper. The run was capped-off by Brittany Wilson scoring on three layups and a 3-pointer. Colorado landed 52 percent from the field and out-rebounded South Alabama 42-28.
Rachel Cumbo scored 19 points and Jennifer Johnson had 18 for the Jaguars.
No. 15 LSU women beat Rutgers 69-65
NEW YORK -- Freshman Raigyne Moncrief scored a season-high 27 points and Theresa Plaisance added 16 to lead No. 15 LSU to a 69-65 win against Rutgers on Friday in the Women's Invitational at Barclays Center.
LSU (5-1) was missing DaShawn Harden and Danielle Ballard, who were suspended for a game after being ejected for fighting in a game against Louisiana Tech last week. The pair were tossed after a video review by officials.
Even without the two, the Lady Tigers were too much for the Scarlet Knights (4-2).
LSU led by four at the half and increased the advantage to 48-41 before Rutgers rallied to within 50-49. That's as close the Scarlet Knights could get.
The Lady Tigers bumped the lead back up to eight before the Scarlet Knights rallied to 68-65 with 21 seconds left. Betnijah Laney missed a 3-pointer with 5.5 seconds left and LSU held on.
Kahleah Copper scored 16 points and Briyona Canty added 13 to lead Rutgers.
No. 22 Georgia defeats George Washington 80-60
ATLANTA -- Tiaria Griffin scored a game-high 19 points on Friday as No. 22 Georgia overwhelmed George Washington 80-60.
Griffin came off the bench to shoot 50 percent from the field and behind the arc (4 of 8) in the opening round of Georgia State's Thanksgiving Invitational. Erica Ford finished with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds for the Lady Bulldogs (7-0).
Georgia jumped out to a 17-point lead by the end of the first half, and only outscored the Colonels by three points in the second. George Washington trailed by 31 with 5:26 left to play, but went on a 14-5 run to close the deficit slightly.
Megan Nipe, averaging 19.5 points per game this season, shot just 2 of 8 from the field and was held to seven points for the Colonials (3-2), whose only other loss came against No. 8 Maryland earlier this season.
